She didn't just see the problem. She built the answer.

As a trusted leader and innovative licensed youth sports coach with over a decade of experience coaching kids ages 2 to 17, Michelle has stood on more fields than she can count, watching young athletes find their courage and strength.

She holds a U.S. Soccer Federation National Coaching License, a USA Rugby Coaching License, and Safe Soccer Clearance, and is certified through the Positive Coaching Alliance in Coaching with Empathy. Her coaching philosophy is built on the Play-Practice-Play model and the Brave-Smart-Kind approach, helping families grow in confidence, critical thinking and character both on and off the field.

Michelle served for over six years as an executive board member of Legends FC Del Mar, formerly Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks Soccer Club, supporting the club’s growth and community impact. Alongside her husband of twenty-five years, she raised two children, now 17 and 20, through every season of youth sports, recreational, competitive, and high school. Before stepping into that season of motherhood, Michelle spent years as a corporate paralegal and served as assistant to the EVP General Counsel at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, a career she set aside intentionally to be fully present for her family, and never looked back.

In spring 2025, while coaching her littlest athletes, Michelle witnessed something she couldn't ignore. Her five-year-old player scored his first goal and spun around in excitement, only to find his dad on his phone. She watched his little face fall. That happened more times than she wanted to see. Michelle understood. She had fought her own battle with phone distraction at home, and had watched other parents struggle with it too. She knew how easy it was to get pulled away. But that moment became a calling.

The Perch Practice™ was born out of something that didn't exist a decade ago. Parental eyes locking into phones. Missing the exact moment their children needed them to look up and lock eyes back at them. Michelle understood the challenge, because our phones are designed to do exactly that.

Michelle founded The Perch Academy as a research-driven multigenerational space where grandparents, parents, and young children grow stronger, braver, and more connected together.

The Perch Practice™ is what she lived out with her own children before smartphones found their way into every hand. Distilled into sixty intentional minutes of athletic play, creative arts, faith-filled storytime, and music that moves you. All in a fully phone-free environment. Built for every family who wants to be fully present and just needs a place that makes it easier.

Everything at The Perch is grounded in a deep belief that children are a gift.

Michelle believes that phone-free presence is an act of love. That quality time, fully present and phone-free, matters more than quantity, and that this is what builds strong families. We can all agree the world needs that now more than ever.

Guided by biblical principles, Michelle leads with a “yes and amen” faith, creating space for connection, joy, and what matters most.

"The greatest gift we can give anyone is our attention, fully present and phone-free. That's why I built The Perch. So no one has to compete with a phone for attention."

Michelle Dickerhoof, Founder and Creator of The Perch Practice™